MethodThe authors drew on extant data from a recent differential treatment intensity study in which 63 toddlers with ID were randomly assigned to receive either five 1-hr MCT sessions per week (i.e., daily treatment) or one 1-hr MCT session per week (i.e., weekly treatment) for 9 months. Children's early canonical syllabic communication was measured after 3 months of treatment, and later spoken vocabulary was measured at posttreatment. Midpoint parental linguistic mapping was measured after 6 months of treatment.

ResultsA moderate-sized effect in favor of daily treatment was observed on canonical syllabic communication. The significant relation between canonical syllabic communication and spoken vocabulary was partially mediated by linguistic mapping.

ConclusionsThese results suggest that canonical syllabic communication may elicit parental linguistic mapping, which may in turn support spoken vocabulary development in children with ID. More frequent early intervention boosted canonical syllabic communication, which may jump-start this transactional language-learning mechanism. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant R01DC007660, National Institute on Child Health and Human Development Grant P30 NICHD HD 002528, and U.S. Department of Education Grant H325D080075. We acknowledge the significant contributions of Jayne Brandel, Catherine Bush, Debby Daniels, Elizabeth Gardner, Nicole Thompson, and Peggy Waggoner.

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